advertisement

Doctor removes 130-pound tumor from Mississippi man

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) - A California doctor removed a 130-pound tumor from a Mississippi man who had been told by other physicians that he was just fat.

Roger Logan, 57, had the non-cancerous growth removed on Jan. 31 at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, where he will remain for another week or so before returning to Gulfport, Mississippi.

The tumor probably started as an ingrown hair that became infected, swelled and developed its own blood supply, Logan's surgeon, Dr. Vipul Dev, told the Bakersfield Californian (http://bit.ly/2jVY3mj).

It sprouted from his lower abdomen more than a decade ago.

Doctors told him: "You're just fat, it's just fat," Logan told KERO-TV (http://bit.ly/2kGH23Q) in Bakersfield.

The tumor grew so massive that it hung to the floor when he sat.

"I used to equate it, you just put a strap around your neck and carry three bags of cement around with you all day long, just swinging," Logan said.

Virtually unable to move, he spent most of his time in a recliner in one room of his home.

By the time the tumor reached 130 to 140 pounds, doctors told Logan it was too risky for him to have surgery, giving him only a 50 percent chance of surviving it.

But his wife, Kitty, scoured the country for specialists to perform the operation and found Dev, who had performed similar surgeries.

"She just kept pushing," Logan told the Californian. "She wouldn't let me quit."

Logan finally made the 2,000-mile, 40-hour trip to Central California with his chair bolted to the floor of a cargo van, "just like I was in my living room at home," Logan told the paper.

Logan is now recovering and last Thursday he was able to walk for practically the first time in years.

"My feet are together," Logan said, wiggling his toes in his hospital bed. "They haven't been together in years."

He is looking forward to returning home and resuming his life, out of an armchair.

In this Feb. 2, 2017, photo, Kitty Logan stands by her husband Roger Logan as he rests on a bed at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital two days after he had his 130-pound tumor removed at the hospital in Bakersfield, Calif. Logan, a Mississippi man who was told he was simply fat, has had the 130-pound tumor removed during an operation in Bakersfield. (Henry A. Barrios/The Bakersfield Californian via AP) The Associated Press
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.